Chamber workshop panelists discuss joys, challenges of serving in elected office

By Ed Martin, The Leader Editor
Kings County Supervisor Joe Neves and Kings Tax Assessor Kristine Lee discuss challenges of elected officials.
Kings County Supervisor Joe Neves and Kings Tax Assessor Kristine Lee discuss challenges of elected officials.

Interested in running for an elected office, but you’re just not sure how to go about it? Does it cost anything? What are the rules? What’s it like running for office and furthermore, what’s it like to be an elected office holder?

These were the questions asked of several local elected officials at a special candidates’ workshop held Tuesday night. Unfortunately, the panelists, while persuasive, didn’t have much of a crowd to impart their knowledge too. However, despite the meager turnout, due in part I suspect to Donald Trump’s CNN Town Hall appearance at about the same time, the show must go on, and so it did, for nearly two hours.

Kings County District Attorney Keith Fagundes
Kings County District Attorney Keith Fagundes

Trump could probably have taken some lessons from these local elected officials.

While the Lemoore Chamber of Commerce’s Candidate Workshop Series held its first forum Tuesday night in the Lemoore Civic Auditorium and had some of Kings County’s most notable elected officials present: Kings County Supervisor Joe Neves, Kings County Superintendent of Schools Tim Bowers, Kings County Tax Assessor Kristine Lee, District Attorney Keith Fagundes, Lemoore Mayor Lois Wynne, and Lemoore City Clerk Janie Vanegas, there weren’t a whole lot of folks there to hear what they had to say.

The two hours went quickly and, indeed, what audience members there were, asked thoughtful questions of the panel members, which they thoughtfully answered.

Tuesday’s forum was the first in a series of workshops to make citizens more aware of the issues faced by elected officials. It’s also designed to help develop new leaders who will work to achieve positive results for our communities.

The official title of Tuesday’s event was “Motivation and What to Expect.”  The Chamber will host a second workshop on May 24 entitled “The Road to Success” and topics will include campaign roles and responsibilities, how to craft and deliver an effective message, getting endorsements, fundraising and working with the media.

The questions, delivered in impressive fashion by Bowers, who moderated the event, were designed to explain the nuts and bolts of running for office and the challenges elected officials face after their election. He also asked what it’s like to be an elected official?

“What’s it like to be an elected official?” wondered Bowers aloud, poising the question to the panel’s elected officials. “Why run, what’s the motivation?”

For Fagundes, elected to the District Attorney’s office in late 2014, it was an ongoing realization that the DA’s office was failing the citizens of Lemoore. As a former prosecutor, he left the DA’s office shortly after former District Attorney Greg Strickland took over. He worked in his private law practice and was doing well when local law enforcement urged him to run. “It just started going down a bad path,” he said. “They (law enforcement) asked me if I wanted to run.”

Mayor Wynne said that the economic vitality of Lemoore prompted her to run. “I was always concerned about the (retail) leakage (to other towns). We just didn’t have a lot of retail.”

Kristine Lee, serving her first term as the Kings County Tax Assessor, said it was all about her community. “I wanted to do good and be a benefit to my community,” she said. “I thought it was an opportunity for me to make a difference.”

What are the challenges each faces as they oversee the political landscapes?

Fagundes lamented what he calls the rising crime rate, the result of legislation aimed at reducing prison overcrowding through AB 109 and Proposition 47 which re-categorized some nonviolent offenses as misdemeanors, rather than felonies. “There are many challenges,” he said. “AB 109 and Prop. 47 are a nightmare for us.”

Neves questioned the seriousness of the proponents of high speed rail. “We need better cooperation. They come in to divide and conquer. Some of the decisions they made, we just don’t agree with,” he said.

All the candidates said there are higher standards for elected officials. “It’s just not an 8 to 5 job,” said Lee. “It’s become a part of your life and you have to accept it.”

Did the small audience learn anything new, perhaps the ultimate secret to running for office – the key to electoral success perhaps? Was anybody motivated enough to want to run for political office? Maybe, maybe not, simply too hard to tell.

 

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